Agroforestry Carbon Credits in Southwestern

Mexico

MissionOur mission is the conservation of the flora, fauna and priority

ecosystems, promoting society's development in harmony with nature..

Israel Amezcua TorrijosClimate Change Program

Coordinator

ADOPTA UN

CAFETAL

Limitations in Carbon Offset Projects

• The process of carbon project development involves many technical steps and complex interpretations of what is acceptable, what is measured, how and when.

• For small and medium enterprises, the requirements of carbon project standards and methodologies can be confusing.

• The cost to develop a project design document for small farmers could be a limiting factor.

Opportunity

However, the Rainforest Alliance agricultural certification system,

with its basis in the standards and annual audits of the Sustainable

Agriculture Network, is an excellent foundation to the monitoring and

verification of carbon credit projects.

Goal of the process

• The potential viability of verified and marketable carbon credits from reforestation on smallholder coffee farms could allows earning additional income by two mechanisms: – selling the carbon credits,

and– promoting an increment in

the value on the coffee market

Shade Coffee Quality

RA Certified

MitigationPractices

Coffe

e M

arke

t Pric

e

Goal of the project

• To enhance the livelihoods of 300 farmers engaged in sustainable farming practices and mitigate climate change in shade grown coffee plantations, via the facilitation of a reforestation project that will generate carbon credits.

Principal Stakeholders

The carbon auditor

The technical

assistance provider

The coffee cooperative

The coffee trader

ADOPTA UN

CAFETAL

Replicable model

AdditionalityCoffee areas More Shade Growing timber or fruit trees, andNatural barriers

Grasslands ReforestationNew coffee-shades areas

Potentially in future:REDD

AR-AMS0004: Simplified baseline and monitoring methodology for small-scale agroforestry – afforestation and reforestation project activities

Next Steps

• We are developing the PDD.– An estimation of sequestration

122,000 metric tons of CO2 – In 2,363 has.

• At December 2010 we have a PIN.

• At June 2011 we have a PDD, with Voluntary Carbon Standard.

Conclusion• We are building local capacities in social

and organizational as well as technical aspects of carbon project development.

• We want to demonstrate the potential viability of verified and marketable carbon credits from reforestation on smallholder coffee farms as a small but significant additional income stream.

• And, facilitate investment in the pilot project to enable its self-sufficiency.

PRIORIDAD: la Gente (QUE TIENE COMO) PRIORIDAD: laTierra

GraciasIsrael Amezcua Torrijos. israel@pronatura-sur.org